Fulcrum Community Resources Looks for Matching Grant Funds to Continue Work with Local Nonprofits

Last March 44 people from 32 local non-profits gathered at Pine Grove for a well- orchestrated process to explore how to work together more effectively. As you probably remember, we emerged with a list of prioritized challenge areas, ideas from three breakout groups (Fundraising, Volunteer Recruitment and Collaboration), and a firm desire to take things to the next level.

Because our mission is to act as a community hub, Fulcrum Community Resources was deemed the logical organization to carry things forward. So starting in June, Barbara McLaughlin and Lane deMoll took on the task of finding funds to deepen the conversation.

We have now been offered a $3000 challenge grant from Oregon Community Foundation to hire us to co-lead this project. In order to secure the grant, we must match the challenge with at least $3000 in cash. (In-kind contributions cannot be used towards this match.) An initial fundraising appeal via the BBQ List and have received $1,500 to date from individuals and nonprofit organizations.

The project’s goal is to create a process that fosters local cooperation, allowing relationships to grow that encourage our community’s long-term sustainability in times of either a healthy or not-so-healthy economic climate.

Here’s how your dontation will be used to further the process over the next nine months:

Convene a series of meetings of the Task Forces that met in March (Volunteers, Fundraising and Collaboration) – We envision starting with Collaboration Task Force.

Host and facilitate a monthly breakfast meeting to look at broader issues – advancing the conversation about the big picture towards gaps in services, as well as long-term resiliency.

Explore the creation of an interactive on-line presence for information about such things as events, fundraising needs and possibilities, and website links. Also create budget & funding options for this.

Organize a spring Volunteer Fair in North County based on one in Tillamook this week.

Convene the second annual large meeting in May, 2016 to report on our progress and see what makes sense for the coming year.

We’re excited by these goals and hope you will become an active part of this collaborative process, not only via your financial contribution, but also by attending some of these meetings and encouraging other individuals and organizations to take part. Any funding beyond the $3000 match will be earmarked for the interactive on-line presence for our non-profit community. Please let us know if you have any questions, contact Barbara McLaughlin,Fulcrum President or Lane deMoll, Fulcrum Secretary at 503-368-6294 or fulcrumresources.org.